Mizpa Then the children of Israell sayde Howe is this wickednes committed 4 And the man the Leuite the womans husband that was slayne aunswered and sayde I came vnto Gibea whiche is in Beniamin with my concubine to lodge 5 And the men of Gibea arose agaynst me and beset the house roūd aboute vpon me by nyght thynking to haue slayne mee And haue forced my concubine that she is dead 6 Then I tooke my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her thorough out all the countrey of the inheritance of Israel For they haue committed abhomination and vilany in Israel 7 Beholde all ye children of Israell geue your aduise and Counsell herein The congregation of the Israelites was assembled together to iudge of the crime This Hebrew word Edah signifieth a Church or an assembly The end of assemblyes or meatynges together beyng deriued of this verbe Adah whiche is to testify bycause that it is the vse and ende of such assemblyes that the godly should faythfully testify before God of those thynges whiche are put forth to be consulted of From Dan euen vnto Beerseba Dan Beerseba In this kinde of Paraphrasis is comprehended the whole people of Israel For these ar the endes of that kyngdome Dan is the ende towarde the North wherby the Iewes are neyghbours vnto the Zidonians and Beerseba toward the South Euen vnto Gilead That land is beyond Iordane The borders of the region of the Hebrues where the two tribes Ruben and Gad together with halfe the tribe of Manasses dwelled Thys was the third end toward the East And ouer agaynst that toward the West lay the sea called mare Mediterraneum Within these termes and lymites was conteyned the region of the Hebrues whiche they possessed in the land of Chanaan They came into Mizpa vnto the LORDE Where Mizpa was Mizpa was a place moste apte to haue assemblyes in it was not farre frome Ierusalem in the Tribe of Iudah In the fyrste booke of the Machabites the thyrde Chapiter it is thus written When the people by reason of the tyranny of the Macedonians fled out of Ierusalem they assembled together in Mizpa vnto Iudas Machabeus And it is added that that place was a house of prayer of aūcient tyme laye situate ouer agaynst the City of Ierusalem And in this booke we haue before heard how that when Iiphtah should be ordeyned Iudge ouer the people the people assembled together in Mizpa In Samuels tyme also the people assembled together twise vnto that place once when they should leade an army agaynst the Philistines an other tyme when Saul should be created kyng Farther when all the Citye was ouerthrowen by Nebuchad-Nezar all the people fled to Godolia in Mizpa Moreouer besides the oportunity of the place was added a notable benefite of God bycause as we rede in the .10 chapter of Iosuah there assembled thether agaynst the people of Israel a very great nūber of kynges for there were not fiue or sixe but very many kinges which were neyghbours entending vtterly to destroye the name of the Iewes Yet God commaunded them to be of a good valiaunt courage bycause he would geue vnto his people the victory ouer them all And when that thyng happened contrary to all mans hope the Hebrues for a monument of so great a benefite built in that place an alter vnto God Wherfore it is probable as the Rabbines affirme that in Mizpa began to bee a house of prayer For the people went not to the tabernacle or to Ierusalem so often as they had occasion to pray Euery Citye had Synagoges but had in Cityes and Villages certayne Synagoges wherein they prayed together vnto GOD. But to doo Sacrifices it was not after that manner lawfull but onely at the tabernacle of Moses or at Ierusalem after Salomon had builte the Temple althoughe hyghe places were sometymes vsed Wherfore the people assembled thether as well for the opportunity of the place as also by reason of the auncient Religion neither thought they it lawefull to begyn any thyng without prayers Whiche institution for that the Papistes woulde somewhat resemble they firste prouide to haue a Masse of the holy Ghost songe before they make any leagues or rather conspiracyes agaynste Christe It is sayde that they assembled together vnto the Lorde to praye together vnto the Lorde D. Kimhi Although Dauid Kimhi thinketh that this was added bycause wheresoeuer is a multitude of the godly there is GOD also present And to confirme that sentence he bringeth a place put of the Psalme GOD stoode in the Synagoge of Goddes For Iudges whiche in thys place are called Goddes when they geue iudgement ought not to thinke that they haue theyr owne cause in hande but Goddes cause as Iosaphat the godly kynge shewed them I doo not dissallowe this sentence for it is both godly and also it maketh menne to vnderstande that when assemblyes are godly had then doo menne assemble vnto GOD whiche thyng if menne in these dayes woulde consider greate menne woulde handle publique causes with more feare of GOD. Howbeit thys is for certayne that the Israelites assembled not in Silo as some thinke And the corners of all the people assembled The Hebrewe woorde is Penoth whiche properly signifyeth corners but in this place it is taken for Capitaines heades ouer ten Cēturious Tribunes and gouernors of warlike affayres For they after a sort are corners strengthes and stayes of an army Wherfore the villages of the Holuetians in the Italian toungue are called Cantones Wherfore the Hebrues come and assemble in Mizpa not rashly but in their orders They had not in deede a kyng or myghty Magistrates or Senadrim as it is thought for they wer sore decayed and weakened by the Philistines Yet they retayned among themselues some order and discipline Fower hundreth thousande footemen When they went out of Epypte they were 666000. The nomber of the Israelites diminishe men It seemeth that the number was nowe diminished And no meruayle bycause they had ben afflicted with many greuous calamities Also the tribe of Beniamin was away which peraduenture had thirty thousande soldiours For that tribe was both ample and also mighty And the chyldren of Beniamin heard The Beniamites would not be present they onely heard what should be done Dauid Kimhi Kimhi admonisheth that these woordes are put in by a parenthesis for there is no cause shewed why they woulde not be among them And the children of Israel sayd Tel how this wycked act was committed Kimhi thinketh that these things are to be red in the vocatiue case as though it should haue bene sayd O ye children of Israel declare the whole matter in order as it was done in the meane time it seemeth that the Beniamites are noted bycause they would not come vnto the assembly neyther take awaye euill from among them The people assembled together to vnderstand the cause that for as much as ther was
Iosua the .xiii. chap. those Cities were reckoned which were least vnconquered after Iosuas death these cities Haza Ascalon and Accaron are expressed by name But there is a doubt after what sorte these Cities were sayde to haue pertained to the Philistians in the tyme of Samuel when Saul dyd then raigne Yea and the same is written in the third chap. of this booke There are some whiche affirme that these Cities were not nowe altogether taken but so possessed that the Israelites obtained some part of the lande which belonged vnto them which semeth not very lykely vnto me seing that the historye sayth that not onely euery one of these Cities wer taken but that also the endes and borders of them came into the power of Iudah Wherfore I would rather iudge that their opinion is best which affirme that Iudah dyd now in deede possesse these Cities as it is written but afterwarde when the Israelites synned they wer agayne dryuen out of them by the Philistians who wonne them agayne to their own vse and so did wynne them that they counted them as most principal dominions for they dyd set ouer eche of them certaine noble gouernours Neyther ought that much to moue vs bycause the history doth onelye name Iudah now speaketh nothing of Symeon For that might be bicause the lot of both these tribes was ioyned together and they had made a couenant to fyght together therfore when we heare the name of the one we must therwith also vnder stand the name of the other And the name of Symeon is rather vnspoken of bicause God hymself in his oracle gaue Iudah the principality in this expedition 19 And the Lord was with Iudah he possessed the mountayne for he could not dryue out the inhabitauntes of the valley bycause they had yron Chariotes He possessed the mountayne The figure zeugma It is written in Hebrewe Veioresch Hahar which if it wer properly translated is he draue away the mountain which without doubt is a figuratiue phrase for the figure 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is added by whych figure one and the selfe woord serueth for two members bycause that woorde Ioschebe which is inhabitours ought to be repeated that euen as it is said that Iudah could not dryue out the inhabitours of the valley so also must be vnderstand that the inhabitours of the mountaine were expelled by him so that thys woord Hahar is the genitiue case as is this woord Haamak that is of the valley The conquering of both these was paynfull bycause Cityes founded vpon mountaines are by nature of the place wel fenced and they whych dwelled in the 〈◊〉 valleys wer very experte in a kynde of fence I meane yron chariotes But least peraduenture we should thinke that the inhabitors of the mountains wer driuen out of their place of Iudah by the strength of men ther is set before And the Lord was with Iudah As though it had ben said bicause they fought by the fauour of God therfore the hilly places wer conquered Wherefore if God had ayded them of Iudah with the like fauour in their battayl in the valley they should also haue ouercome those which inhabited the valley There semeth also a cause to be geuen bycause they had yron chariotes He that shal reade the Iliades of Homer shal easely perceaue that the men in the old time vsed chariotes in battails also the same may be gathered both out of the most auncient histories also out of the latter writers Quintus Curtius amongest other Quintus Curtius writing the life of Alexander doth playnlye make mencion of such chariots in the battail fought against Darius But I thinke no writer writeth more plainly of them than doth Liuie Titus Liuius For he in that battail wherin Antiochus was ouercome of the Romanes which is in the .4 decade seuenth boke thus describeth the chariotes whych he calleth hooked He sayth that they were fenced chiefely after thys maner The description of hooked chariotes The poyntes aboute the draught tree standing out from the yoke had as it were hornes wherwith whatsoeuer they met they mighte thruste it throughe and twoo hookes hoong oute at eche ende of the cart the one euen with the carte the other fastened downewarde to the earth the former serued to cut asunder what so euer came on the syde of it the other was made to crushe them which fel downe or went vnder There were also two sundry hookes fastened after the same sorte to the exetrees of both the wheles c. The vse therfore of these chariotes endured til the tyme that Antiochus was ouercome Howbeit wee neuer reade that the Romanes vsed them And that they wer horrible to behold and hard to be conquered may manifestly be gathered by the booke of Iosua For ther in the .vii. chap. when the tribe of Ioseph complained bicause it was so many in number and had obtained so narrow a lot Iosua commaunded them that if they had not roume inoughe they shoulde go and dwel or els conquere the places of their enemies adioyning vnto them They excused them selues that they coulde not doo that bicause their neighbours had yron chariotes But to repeate more auncienter thinges Pharao as it is written in the booke of Exodus when hee persecuted the Israelites which fled is said to haue had chariotes and with the same he tooke vpon hym to enter into the sea But they beyng ouerthrowen by the power of God hee was punished for breaking his fidelity Yron chariotes cānot resist god But this is diligently to be considered of vs whether either yron chariotes or hooked cartes can withstand the power and promise of God which if we shal deny as in very dede we must deny why ar they then put here as the cause that the victory was not obtained Marke the distinction Whereunto I aunswer that in this place is set foorth vnto vs the nighest cause namely that which was sene And certainly it was a cause if we should looke onely vpon mans strength For the Chananites being so armed and appointed could not be ouercome of the Israelites whych wer weaker than they Why god graūted not the hole victorye vnto Iudah and not so wel armed and fenced But if the power and might of God be considered the same could not be letted either by chariots and weapons or els by power of souldiours Why did not God therfore whych had geuen part of the victory graunt the whole also Kimhi aunswereth that God dyd it to proue the Israelites thereby For if they should haue bene constrayned as in deed they were to dwel for a while with these nations then experience should haue tryed how much they woulde set by theyr God namelye whether they woulde perseuer in the lawfull woorshypping of hym or whether they would enclyne to their owne madde customes and woorshipping of Idoles Thys in deede is a true cause and is set foorth also in the thyrd chapter of
that he was a wycked king neyther departed he from the woorshipping of golden Calues Wherefore it is lawfull for vs to graunt that in lying he synned A distinctiō to be noted And as I thinke and before admonished by this onely distinction we maye easily dissolue this doubt Namely that those men were styrred vp to lye either by the spirite of man or by the motion of God When they dyd it as men wee will not denye but that they synned but when they spake so by the inspiration God we will maruaile at their sayinges and doinges but let vs not take example by them or follow them ¶ Of dissimulation Dissimulacion is of two kindes BVt what shal we affirme of dissimulatiō I answer that it is of two kindes One is which hath a respect onely to deceaue And that forasmuch as it differeth not much from a lye it is vndoubtedlye synne If one being wicked doo fayne himselfe to be good and holy the same man without doubt is an hipocrite and in that he dissembleth he haynously sinneth Whosoeuer also hauing a malitious and enuious hart against anye man doth flatter the same man and dissembleth to be his friend he is not without synne yea he is infected with a detestable dissimulation But ther is an other kinde of dissimulation which tendeth not to deceaue any man but serueth onely to kepe counsels secrete that they bee not hindred And this dissimulation is not to be repudiated or to be condemned as a syn forasmuch as we haue alredy declared that it is not alwaies required that we shoulde open what soeuer truth wee knowe What Christ mēt by his dissimulation So Christe being most innocent tooke vpon him the flesh of syn hid his innocency diuine nature And that not to deceiue mortal men but that he might suffer for the saluatiō of mēt For if he had bene knowen to haue bene the Lord of glory thei would neuer as saith the Apostle haue crucified him The same Christ fained also before two of his Disciples that he would go farther He did not that to deceiue them but hee therfore a while opened not himself vnto them to reprooue them of their incredulity and to instruct them by testimonies of the scriptures Therewithall also he signified how farre he was from their hartes Or as Augustine interprereth it he shaddowed vnto them his departure into heauen Wherefore it manifestly appeareth that in those dissimulations there was no lye seing his woordes did well agree wyth the thyng signified And Dauid when hee fell into a most great daunger before Achin Kyng of Geth chaunged his countenaunce and fained himselfe a foole Of the dissimulatiō of Dauid and for that hee seemed suche a one he escaped Here some say that he cōmitted no dissimulation but that God to deliuer him strake such a feare in him that his senses might be taken from him and so did these thinges whych are rehearsed of him in the fyrst booke of Samuel Wherefore in his Psalme which beginneth Psal 34. I wyl alway geue thankes vnto the Lorde he gaue thankes vnto God for so great a benefite And therwithal in his act by the inspiratiō of God he shadowed what Christ should suffer for our sakes namely that he should be counted as a foole and a mad mā Either els we answer that Dauid is not altogether to be excused of synne if as a man being more afeard than was mete he sought for this kinde of helpe But if he by the mocion of God did it wittingly and with knowledge we wil not accuse him of synne although we may not follow his example Neither is it lawful that any man should fayne himselfe to haue committed any crime which he hath not perpetrated Gregory Augustine although Gregory saith that good myndes wyll there acknowledge a fault wher none is Augustine writeth more truly and soundly of that thing in his .29 Sermon de verbis Apostoli For he writeth In so faining if before thou wast not a sinner thou shalt be made a sinner namely in saying that thou hast cōmitted that yl which thou hast not perpetrated It is lawful in dede for euery man to confesse himself to be a synner in vniuersall But this or that crime in special no man ought to receaue in himself which he hath not in verye deede committed Farther we must note that this is true that it is not required of vs that we should open the truth euery where and in all places to speake al that we know but yet in iudgement the same is not to bee permitted For when two of vs are examined as witnesses there we are bounde to testifye that whych we know serueth for the thing whereof at that time we be demaunded ¶ Whither it be lawful to lye to preserue the lyfe of our Neyghbours BVt there ariseth a more hard doubt namely whether it be lawfull to lye for to preserue the life of our neighbour Augustine of a lye to Consentius saith Augustine If a man should be in verye great daunger of death the same man also should know that his sonne also wer in the like extreme daunger which happeneth to dye and thou knowest of his death when the Parent shal aske thee lyueth my sonne or no and thou art sure that he also wil dye if thou shalt tel him that hys sonne is deceased what wouldest thou do in this case whyther thou sayest he liueth or whither thou saiest I cannot tel thou lyest But if thou shall answer that he is dead al men wyll cry out vpon thee as though thou haddest cōmitted manslaughter and as though by thy heauy newes thou haddest bene the occasiō of the death of this father being sycke and lying at the poynt of death Augustine graunteth that it is a hard case neither denieth he but that as a man he shoulde be moued peraduenture it might so happen that affections woulde not suffer him to speake that which is iust right But al the length he concludeth that he should not lye And he addeth moreouer A similitude that if thou knowest that any vnchaste woman loueth thee inordinately which also threateneth to kyl her selfe yea and wil do it in very dede vnles thou wylt graunt to her wicked lust whether therfore thou oughtest to be entised to commit any filthye thing against chastitye I think not So also saith he thou oughtest not for the sauing of thy neighbours life to offend against the truth And moreouer what a window shuld be made open to lyes if we shoulde otherwise iudge of thys For that which one shall thincke to be lawful for life an other wil iudge that he may do the same for money an other for estimation or for defending of lands possessions And so shal it come to passe that there wil be no measure or end of lyes We maye not suffer sayth Augustine that any man should kil his own soule for the corporall
thou arte come agaynst me to fyght in my land 13 And the kinge of the children of Ammon aunsweared vnto the messengers of Iiphtah bicause Israell tooke my lande when they came from Egipte from Arnon euen to Iaboc and vnto Iarden now therfore restore them with peace 14 Yet Iiphtah sent messengers agayne vnto the kinge of the children of Ammon 15 And sayd vnto hym Thus sayth Iiphtah Israell tooke not the land of Moab nor the land of the children of Ammon 16 But when Israell came vppe from Egipte and walked thorowe the wyldernesse euen to the Sea Suph then they came to Cades 17 And Israell sente messengers vnto the kinge of Edom sayinge Let me I praye thee goe thorowe thy lande But the Kynge of Edome woulde not consente And also they sente vnto the Kynge of Moab but he woulde not Therefore Israell abode in Cades 18. Then they wente thorowe the wildernes and compassed the Lande of Edome and the Lande of Moab and came by the Easte syde of the Lande of Moab and pytched beyonde Arnon neyther came they wythin the coaste of Moab For Arnon was the border of Moab 19 Wherefore Israell sente messengers vnto Sihon kinge of the Ammorhites and king of Hebron and Israell sayde vnto him Let vs passe we pray thee by thy land into our place 20 But Sihon trusted not Israell to go thorough his coaste but Sihon gathered together all his people and pitched in Iaaz and fought agaynst Israell 21. And the Lorde GOD of Israell gaue Sihon and all his people into the handes of Israell and they smote them so Israell possessed all the lande of the Ammorrhites the inhabitantes of that countrey 22 And they possessed all the coaste of the Ammorhites from Arnon euen to Iaboc and from the wildernes euen vnto Iordan 23 Nowe therefore the Lorde GOD of Israell hath caste oute the Ammorhites before his people Israell and shouldest thou possesse it 24 Wouldest not thou possesse that whiche Chemos thy God geueth thee to possesse So whomesoeuer the Lorde our God driueth out before vs them will we possesse 25. And arte thou now farre better then Balac the sonne of Zippor king of Moab Did not he striue with Israell Did not he fyght agaynste them 26. When Israell dwelte in Hesbon and in her townes and in Aroer and in her Townes and in all the Cities that are by the coastes of Arnon .300 yeares Why did ye not then recouer them in that space 27 Wherefore I haue not offended thee but thou doest me wrong to warre agaynst me The Lord the Iudge be Iudge thys day betwene the chyldren of Israel and the chyldren of Ammon 28 Howbeit the king of the children of Ammon hearkened not vnto the woordes of Iiphtaph which he had sent hym When Iiphtah by his messengers saith vnto the king of Ammon what hast thou to do with me he vseth a phrase very much vsed of the Hebrues He inquireth the cause as though he woulde haue sayde why inuadest thou our landes what discord or iniuries are there betwene thee and me The king of the Ammonites answered that he therefore made warre bicause the Israelites did hym iniury which tooke away his landes namely from the borders of Arnon euen to Iaboc and Iarden He complayneth that all that coast was taken from hym which was betwene those riuers This he pretendeth to be the cause of the war And he desired that they would restore peaceablye that is without warre that which they had taken away from him He seemeth to promise that he will leaue of from warre if the Israelites woulde performe this Iiphtah denieth that the thyng is so VVe haue not taken away sayth he your land And bringeth a reason Bicause when the Israelites came vp out of Egipt they of their owne wyll sent messengers vnto the kyng of Edom that they might haue leaue to passe throughe his borders which thing he would not let them doo so farre is it of that wee dyd them iniury The people abode in Cades so muche tempered they themselues frō violence and weapons They went on the syde of the land of Edom for the Edomites would not permit Israel to go straight through the middest of their country Wherefore my people rather iourneyed with great labour then that they were troublesome vnto any man And pitched beyond Arnon There were the endes of Moab Wherefore ye can not complaine that we did anye man iniurye Therfore when the Israelites saw that they could not leade their host throughe the borders of Edom or Moab they sent vnto Sihon king of the Amorhites But he would not neither did he onely denye them passage through his borders but also assembled an host and pursued them And the battaile beyng ioyned God deliuered him in to the handes of the Israelites The Israelites possessed the land by the righte of warre Wherefore sayth he we haue done thee no wrong for this land we possesse by the right of warre Sihon assayled vs with his power and the victory fel on our syde wherfore both he and all his land by the right of warre came into our power And the Lord delyuered Wherfore forasmuch as Israel by the ryght of war succeded Sihon that land which thou desirest is not thine but in the olde tyme pertained vnto Sihon the king Therfore when we occupied this land thou diddest not possesse it but the Amorhites Neither do we possesse this land by the right of warre onely They also possessed it by the gift of God but also by the gift of God for the Lord our God which is Lord of al kingdomes hath geuen it to vs and deliuered it into our power This is the second reason that Iiptah vseth for by the first he onelye sheweth that those places came vnto him by the right of warre without any wrong doing But some man might say It is well perceiued that god gaue it bicause he draue out the Ammonits how knowest thou that God gaue thee this land Bicause saith he he expelled the old inhabiters the Amorhites before vs and wylt thou succede the Amorhites as though hee would say by what right He bringeth an argument a simili that is from the lyke You sayth he worship the God Chemos and you thinke you haue your lād by his benefite and ye beleue that ye possesse it by very good right So we haue receiued our land not from an idole as you haue but from the true God Chemos the god of he Ammonites and we retayne it by very good ryght He calleth not Chemos god bicause he beleued that idole to be a god but speaketh in this maner bicause they iudged that it was so Art thou better then Balac the sonne of Zippor They possessed also by the right of prescription Thys is the thyrde reason We possesse it saith they not onely by the right of warre or gyft but also by the right of prescription for we haue had it nowe in our handes
wee haue before heard in the .viii. chap. But nowe are they more insolent for they would not be content with Iiphtahs defence These Ephramites also did the like when they instituted Ieroboam king against the house of Dauid They which ar infected with pride doo euermore endeuour themselues to be aboue other Cicero and to excel them in dignity and other commodities Cicero in his booke de Particionibus sayth that Pride followeth the loftynes of the minde in aduauncing of his own thinges They which are proude are swelled like bodies that are puffed vp which haue not sounde fleshe and sinoes but consist of a vaine swelling So the proude although they excell not others in vertue Pride noblenes of minde accompared together yet do they aduaunce them selues aboue them The true noblenes of the mynde consisteth herein that we should contemne thinges vile and be occupied about those thinges whych ar in deede great thinges But they that are proude haue not a noble minde but a vayne for they study not for true glory but for vaine glory wherefore they are iustly called vaynglorious 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Aristotle And they which are infected with this disease of the mynde the same men are enuious as Aristotle teacheth in his .2 booke of Rethorikes and he declareth that both the ambicious persons and the vayne glorious are enuious Which thing Paul also to the Galathians confirmeth wher he saith be not ye made desirous of vayne glory prouoking and enuying one an other Of enuy doo straightway spring sedicions Wherfore by these two vices the Ephramites fel into sedicion VVere gathered together Not vndoubtedly by any order For no lawful Magistrate assembled them together but they were tumultuouslye styrred vp And they passed ouer Northwarde For they passed ouer Iordane to inuade the Galaadites ¶ Of Sedicion BVt that of hautines and pride doo arise sedicions the Apostle in the .2 Pride is ioined with sedicions to the Corrin the .xii. chap. very well declareth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 where hee ioyneth hautynes with sedicions In what thng this vice chiefly consisteth appeareth by the Code de sediciosis in law .1 where it is thus had They are counted sedicious which doo gather the people without anye certayne commaundement and doo defende them against publike discipline Yea also many things hereunto belonging may be had out of the Digestes ad l. Iuliam de vi publica In summe thē chiefly is sedicion when by a tumult they which ar of one the selfe same company and body doo mete out of sundry partes to fight together This vice is in especial contrary to peace and ciuil concord For in sedicion there are manye partes of one people and the vnitye of Citizens is troubled and endaungered Wherin the vnity of citizens consisteth Augustine But that we may know in what thing the vnity of the people consisteth let vs geue eare vnto Augustine in his seconde booke De ciuitate dei who in hys xxi chapter bryngeth something out of the bookes of Cicero de Repub. that are woorthy to be knowen where Scipio thus speaketh Wyse men called not euery company a people What compani may be called a people but a company associated together by consent of the law and communion of vtility Wherefore there are twoo handes of the people one is that they agree in the same lawes of thynges diuine and humane the other is that they haue among themselues a communion of publike vtility Whosoeuer ryse vp agaynst these thynges maye iustlye be called sedicious Suche tumultes when they happen for doctrines of religion or Ecclesiasticall matters are woont to be called schismes And they are more grieuous offenders in thys wycked crime namely of sedicion which first haue sowed the matter the cause and seedes thereof althoughe the other also which are adherentes vnto the authours thereof are not vnguilty And although the people are twoo partes at the least which runne together in a sedicion with contrary mindes yet are not both parties guiltye of sedicion but onely that part is to be accused of so great a wicked crime whyche inuadeth the bondes of vnity that is common lawes and publike vtility But they which resist such troublesome men are not to be counted sedicious but good Citizens And hereby it is manyfest We are falsely accused of the Papistes as sedicious how falsely we are accused of the Papistes as sedicious when as in very deede we desyre to haue the lawes of Christian Religion which haue bene euen from the beginning receaued by the woorde of God to remayne safe and perpecte and we by all meanes procure to reedify the publike vtility of eternall saluation and of the woorshipping of God which are on euerysyde fallen in decay which two thinges vndoubtedly pertaine as it is sayd vnto good Citizens But they haue to their power ouerthrowne these good thinges and do continually hinder them Wherfore they are iustlye and woorthely both to be accused and also to be condemned of sedicion What are the punishmentes of sedicious persons But with what punishmentes this wicked crime is to be punished it is easely gathered both out of the lawes of God and the lawes of man God punished Dathan and Abiran with the opening of the earth vpon Core and his fellowes he sent fyre sometimes also he vsed the stinging of Serpentes and at length for this wicked crime aboue al other of the number of the Israelites which wer sixe hundred three score and sixe thousand when they came out of Egipt there diminished so many in the space of .40 yeares that twoo onely namely Iosua and Chaleb entred into the land of Chanaan Also by the iudgement of God Absolon came vnto an euyl ende and Syba the sonne of Bichry and Adonias which moued sedicion agaynst Dauid But the Romanes as farre as we can gather out of Liui and Plutarch dyd put to death the tenth man of sedicious Soldiours The Ciuill lawes as it is had in the Code in the title De Sedicionibus l. 1. punished thys wycked cryme with extreme punishment that is to saye with cutting of the head or if they had a respect vnto the dignity or condicion of the person they that were sedicious were somtymes hanged on a forke and somtimes throwne to wylde beasts or banished into an Ilande as it is written in the Digestes De paenis in the law Si quis aliquid The ingratitude of the Ephramites against Iiphtah Wherefore nowe that wee haue brieflye shewed the causes of thys troublesome commocion and haue defined the cryme of sedicion and declared the grieuousnesse thereof by the punishmentes nowe lette vs see howe ingrate the Ephramites were against Iiphtah Hee seing he had excellentlye well deserued of Israel they ought vndoubtedly by the lawe of iustice and honestye to haue gone and met him to haue soong songes of victory and with great honour and prayses haue exalted and commended him For as
reason of sundry calamities and plagues wherewith the Philistians afflicted the people of their greuous synnes the Israelites had nowe no lawfull Magistrates wherby came to passe that many wycked actes were cōmitted the woorshipping of God violated and ciuill warres arose which must nedes happen where synnes remayne vnpunished And that whych mought haue bene restrayned by the punishment of one or twoo brought the destruction of manye thousandes both of the Israelites and also of the Beniamites We shal see in this hystory whych the holye ghost referreth to the ende of thys booke fyrste a moste haynous wycked acte of the Beniamites Secondlye vengeaunce taken of that Tribe by the other Tribes wherby the Beniamites were in a maner cleane destroyed And lastly we shal heare the wonderful instauracion of that Tribe The occasion of this warre was thus A certaine man being a Leuite had a wyfe who committed adultery and fearing the sharpenes of her housband fled to her Parentes Not long tyme after her husbande went to seeke her fyndeth her and is reconciled vnto her The woman as shee returned home together wyth her husband was with most fylthy whoredome defiled of the Gabaonites whereby she miserably perished so suffred punishment for her fyrst aduoutry For God punisheth synnes by synnes Neither suffered he adultry being not punished by the Magistrates to go vnpunished As touching the historye it is no marueilous or straunge thing that the Leuite dwelt as a straunger For althoughe that Tribe had certaine Cities and suburbes appointed it yet very many of the Leuites went to the townes and villages of the other Tribes to serue them as touching doctrine counsels wherof I haue a litle before somwhat spoken This man dwelt as a straunger on the syde of mount Ephraim The Hebrewe woord signifieth a side a hyp or thigh And by translacion it signifieth a region or coast And this is a very elegant Metaphore when there is mencion made of a mountaine He dwelled therfore on the side of mount Ephraim He tooke a wyfe a Concubine By this place is manifestlye gathered that the Concubines of the Fathers were wiues For the Iewes were not bound to the lawes of the Romanes when as both at this tyme they were not made and also they pertayned not to that nacion Whych I therefore speake bycause the Romanes had Concubines which were not wiues But the Hebrewes sometimes called their wyues Concubines bycause they were not of the same honour and dignity that their wyues were which had authority in the house Yea the Maister sometimes maryed his handmayden as Abraham maryed Agar Iacob Bilham and Zilpa Peraduenture in contracting of those matrimonies there wanted tables or some outward ceremonies wherwith they vsed to adorne the principal matrimonies Neither yet was that a let but that these were matrimonies Of this thing I haue spoken largely before Wherefore I will at thys tyme cease to go any farther therein But in that the Leuite had a wyfe whiche was of the tribe of Iuda it is not to be marueiled at bicause vnles maydens were inheritours they mought mary in other tribes which thing was not permitted to those that had inheritāce to the ende that possessions should not be confounded Farther forasmuche as the tribes of Iuda and Leui excelled the other in dignitye they were the easelyer coopled together in matrimony For the principality seemed wel to agree wyth the Priesthood It is called Bethlehem of Iuda to put a difference from the other Bethlehem as we haue before declared She committed aduoutry by hym We might also say against him For ther is great iniury done vnto the man when the wife playeth the whoore And this preposicion All signifeth either But the plainer sense is by him As thoughe it should haue bene said that she committed aduoutry when she was yet together with her husband and had not departed from him She fled to her father Being so afearde of her husbande that shee durst not come in his sight she got her to her fathers house Adultery is committed which is a grieuous crime and yet is not punished by the punishment of the lawe for that there was no Magistrate to execute iudgementes And thoughe in all persons aduoutry is a grieuous wicked act The wyfe of a Minister if she be an adultres synneth more grieuously then other yet in the wyfe of a Leuite or Priest it is farre more grieuous for as muche as the holye ministerye ought to bee well spoken of Wherefore if the daughter of a Priest had played the harlot in her Fathers house she was not stoned as other were but burnt with fyre as it is expressedly wrytten in Deuteromy But why this adultresse was not slaine the cause as it is before sayde was for that there was no Magistrate in Israel And this adulteresse might think to herself that she had escaped punishmēt This adulterous woman escaped not the punishmente of God as touchinge men but she could not escape the hand of God For god shall iudge adulterers and whoremōgers as the Epistle to the Hebrewes teacheth which thing he doth sometimes by magistrates and sometimes when they cease by himself The woman was with her parents .4 monthes in which space of time her husband being either moued with mercy or wearied with solitarines went to seke hys wyfe and to speake to her harte Two manner of wayes of punishinge the guilty By this Hebrewe phrase is signified that he would comfort her being in misery and afflicted or geue her some profitable counsell peraduenture that she should repent her of the sinne which she had cōmitted promising her that if she would do so he woulde receaue her into fauor agayne He ioined a coople of Asses That he might haue one to cary his wife and the other to lade with thinges necessary for his iorney The wife as sone as she saw him brought him into her fathers house By whiche acte shee declareth that shee was not vtterlye alienated from her husbande The father of the maiden that is his father in lawe mette him and ioyfully embrased him Whereby we gather that the old man also wished a reconcilement betwene them He abode there three dayes He abode there in verye dede fiue dayes but thre dayes willingly the other two dayes he was in a manner compelled by his father in law And they did eate and drinke These thinges declare that they were reconciled and that the matrimony was renewed betwene them But when he would haue departed the father in law sayd Thou shalt strengthen thy hart with a morsell of breade And by this woorde breade he vnderstode all kinde of meate The old man would not so sone let thē go bicause he desired to haue fauor and loue confirmed betwene them to th end they should not afterward be easly seperated the one from the other This was his purpose Behold the day is weakened He vseth a Metaphore and signifieth the passage of the Sunne to the west
lye styll aboundyng in wealth and riches Neyther is it to bee suffred that they shoulde lyue at ease and other in payne Yet the Pope in his Decretalles de Immunitate Ecclesiae in the chapter Non minus where the woordes of the Counsell holden at Lateranum are cited And in the chapter aduersus Consules will haue the Ecclesiasticall men vtterly exempted And Bonifacius the .8 in hys .6 de Immunitate Ecclesiarum in the chapter Clericis laicos permitteth them not to pay any thyng Yea and he excommucateth the prince which taketh tribute of a Minister of the Churche and also the Minister hymself which payeth it This law as to cruel Benedictus the .11 after a sort mitigateth in Extrauag de Immunitate Eccles in the chap. Quod olim yet he permitteth not the prince to do any thyng without askyng counsel of the Byshop of Rome For he in deede doth not excoÌ„municate those princes which do receaue tribute of Ecclesiasticall men but onely those that exacte it of them For he permitteth not that princes should exacte any thyng by their owne right whiche thing yet sometymes he permitteth namely in an extreme necessity as in daunger of religion and lyfe so that firste there be had the consent of the Byshop and clergy and afterwarde also the agreement of the Pope So longe therefore hath he decreed that they must tary So these men do exempt themselues froÌ„ the obedience and tributes of princes and kyngs which as I haue before sayd out of Vlpiane are the establishementes and sinewes of the publique wealth A sayinge of Diocletian When I thinke vpon these thinges I call to remembraunce a profitable saying of Diocletian of whoÌ„ when a Philosopher desired an immunite This request sayd he disagreeth with thy profession Thou professest sayd he that thou wilt ouercome thy affections but thou shewest that thou art ouercome of auarice So these men professe themselues to be spirituall But in a spirituall maÌ„ is nothing more required theÌ„ charity whiche counselleth vs not to lyue franchised and securely when other are oppressed with cares and burtheÌ„s Thomas Aquinas bringeth a place of Genesis to shewe that Priestes are exempted from tributes Thomas Aquinas not in deede by the law of GOD but by a lawe made by princes and yet neuertheles agreing with the law of nature For Pharao kyng of Egypt prouided that the Priests should not paye the fift parte of their fruites for tribute when as yet so muche was exacted of all the other Egyptians Wherfore he concludeth that Priestes are exempted This place is diligently to be considred First let vs note that the Priests of the Egyptians had theyr dayly lyuing out of the threasory of the kyng They had meate and drinke and money geuen them to lyue by Afterward it came to passe that when the hunger waxed great all the Egyptians solde their landes vnto the kyng therwith to buy corne to driue away the hunger But wheÌ„ that famine was past the kyng rendred the landes vnto the olde possessors but yet vpon this condition that euery yeare they should paye him the fift parte but of the landes of the Priestes there was no fift part payd And no meruayle bycause they sold not their landes vnto the king when they were kept of the common cost Yet it is to bee thought that they payd so muche tribute of their landes as they were wont to pay before the famine Neither vndoubtedly can any other thyng be gathered out of that place but that Priestes ought to be noorished of the common cost but in that they payed not the fift part that happened for an other cause as we haue nowe declared They bring forth also the .8 chapter of Esdras where Artaxerxes prouided that when he had layd a tribute vpon the Iewes there should be nothing leuied of the Leuites in the name of a tribute But this is not to be meruayled at seyng the Leuites had no landes to pay tribute of For vnto them pertayned onely oblations first fruites and tenthes For whiche cause they were released of tributes Also Iulius Cesar de bello Gallico sayth The Druites payd no tributes Plini that the Druites whiche were Priestes in Gallia payd no tributes But Plini in his .16 booke and .44 chapter writeth that the Druites had no landes And yet are not these thinges spoken to this end that I should thinke that it is not lawfull for the Magistrate to deale somewhat more gently with them and somewhat to beare with theÌ„ It is honest that the â—agistrate deale somwhat more gently with Ministers Bycause they must alwayes apply themselues to holy thinges and study for nothyng els Wherby it coÌ„meth to passe that they can not increase their substaunce yea rather very oftentymes they suffer great losse neither haue they their stipendes but duryng theyr lyfe This thyng onely I dissalowe that they clayme vnto theÌ„selues immunity both real and personall they vtterly refuse both ordinary and extraordinary charges and that by tyranny or against the worde of God and for that the Pope will not suffer princes to exacte tributes of Byshops and Ecclesiasticall men when they will themselues and bycause they will not geue them if they be required The word of God hath otherwise commaunded when it sayth let euery soule be subiect vnto the higher power And therfore sayeth he ye pay tributes None is excepted neither would Christ himselfe be exempted Chrisostome Chrisostome vpon that place of Paul It may sayth he seeme greuous vnto Christians for that they beyng the children of God and appoynted for the kyngdome of heauen are subiect vnto princes of this world But he aunswereth Whilest we are in this lyfe our dignity is hidden For it appeareth not what we shal be Wherfore whilest we lyue here let it not be grieuous vnto vs to rise vp to the Magistrate to geue them the way and to honour them These thynges are full of comelynes and are decently done of the saintes Nowe that we are regenerate by the worde and the spirite it might seeme that we neede no Magistrate Wherefore the Iewes bycause they were the people of God tooke it very grieuously that sometyme the Babilonians raigned ouer them sometymes the Persians sometymes the Grecians sometymes the Romanes Anabaptistes Libertines and other nations whiche knewe not God The Anabaptistes also and Libertines cry that it is a thyng vnworthy for a Christian to suffer a Magistrate ouer hym The Clergy of the Pope also haue shaked of this yoke from themselues But the Apostles which foresawe that this thing would come to passe did very often inculcate that the Ciuile power should be obeyed whiche precept is two wayes transgressed one way is when men say they will not obey the Magistrate Sinne committed two maner of wayes agaynst the Magistrate and sediciously make warre agaynst hym The other way is wheÌ„ they circumuent hym by subtility and guile that he can not execute